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Possible flight case option: Pelican V800

#41
They have another model that is also waterproof. $269.

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#42
Garret Graves said:
Something I would be cautious about in packing any case that TSA opens- they are very bad-outright negligent, about repacking complicated bag packs. Tape or glue the foam together in the shape you need, if they are loose, TSA will not take the time to realign everything, they will stuff it in and jam it closed the best as they can, and move on. My world traveler Sax playing friend has a semi complex pack job with a group of expensive and delicate instruments into a single flight case. On one leg of a trip, TSA opened a sax case that was inside the larger travel case- they couldn’t figure out how it went back together, so loose pieces of his sax were floating around in the case, sax heavily damaged. The main point I’m trying to make- don’t use a dozen loose pool noodles that need to be precise in their placement to offer protection, when TSA gets their hands on it, that protection won’t be rebuilt with loving care.
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You definitely have a point, I'm going to try out one of these Pelican V800 cases later this week to see if my Reunion Blues Continental Gig Bag will even fit for a starter and then I guess I'll go from there.
I have a SKB flight case that fit's my LTD B-206 perfectly and I use some very firm foam padding in the case to better protect the instrument but I have a Zon Legacy Elite 6 that does not at all fit in that SKB case and I have it in my Reunion Blues Gig bag, so I thought maybe the Pelican case with the Reunion Blues gig bag would be awesome protection if I was checking in.
I bought a Reunion Blues Aero Case and my Zon does not fit in that case either, the tuners are pushing out on the inside walls of the case so that ended up not working, but it does fit my LTD perfectly.
I'm really nervous just trying to bring my Zon in just the Reunion Blues Continental gig bag on to the plane for fear of gate checking.
So I'll see how it goes with the Pelican V800 later this week.
 
#45
Garret Graves said:
Something I would be cautious about in packing any case that TSA opens- they are very bad-outright negligent, about repacking complicated bag packs. Tape or glue the foam together in the shape you need, if they are loose, TSA will not take the time to realign everything, they will stuff it in and jam it closed the best as they can, and move on. My world traveler Sax playing friend has a semi complex pack job with a group of expensive and delicate instruments into a single flight case. On one leg of a trip, TSA opened a sax case that was inside the larger travel case- they couldn’t figure out how it went back together, so loose pieces of his sax were floating around in the case, sax heavily damaged. The main point I’m trying to make- don’t use a dozen loose pool noodles that need to be precise in their placement to offer protection, when TSA gets their hands on it, that protection won’t be rebuilt with loving care.
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Yes, this is true. And if you always use the same bag, or similar bags, you can simply cut the very nice foam that came with it. I used these just as fill, really no different than foam peanuts. But, only because I didn't want to cut up the foam that came with it.
 
#48
rknox said:
I'm wondering if you had any luck with the Reunion Blues Continental in the V800. Thanks.
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Well about 3 or 4 weeks ago my band played in Atlanta, GA at ProgPower 2019 and I did take my Zon in my Reunion Blues Continental bag and did not check it at all to and from Atlanta.
This is how I was able to do it without any issues by bring it with me on the plane was 1st when I booked the flight in advance I paid extra for early boarding and I got Group A early boarding but I did not know that til you confirm your boarding pass 24 hours in advance prior to when your flight leaves so I'm guessing when you book your flight a few months in advance you have a better chance getting Group A early boarding when you do pay extra for early boarding which was around $25.00 extra for early boarding to and from.
So I was able to bring my Zon in my Continental bag with boarding early which gave me more access to the over-head bin's to put my bass in.
Again I didn't have a problem this time I gues we'll see wat happens in January, I'm scheduled to go back over to europe and I'd really like to take my Zon instead of my LTD B-206.
 
#49
gwangi said:
Well about 3 or 4 weeks ago my band played in Atlanta, GA at ProgPower 2019 and I did take my Zon in my Reunion Blues Continental bag and did not check it at all to and from Atlanta...
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Thanks for the early boarding tip! I’ve flown with my Continental and had to gate-check it once. It was unharmed, but it’s only a matter of time I think. So I’m thinking a hard case might be a safer bet.

Did you ever check to see if it would fit in a V800?
 
#50
gwangi said:
Well about 3 or 4 weeks ago my band played in Atlanta, GA at ProgPower 2019 and I did take my Zon in my Reunion Blues Continental bag and did not check it at all to and from Atlanta.
This is how I was able to do it without any issues by bring it with me on the plane was 1st when I booked the flight in advance I paid extra for early boarding and I got Group A early boarding but I did not know that til you confirm your boarding pass 24 hours in advance prior to when your flight leaves so I'm guessing when you book your flight a few months in advance you have a better chance getting Group A early boarding when you do pay extra for early boarding which was around $25.00 extra for early boarding to and from.
So I was able to bring my Zon in my Continental bag with boarding early which gave me more access to the over-head bin's to put my bass in.
Again I didn't have a problem this time I gues we'll see wat happens in January, I'm scheduled to go back over to europe and I'd really like to take my Zon instead of my LTD B-206.
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I was at days one and two, as a concert-goer. Did I see you play?
 
#56
Stan_da_man said:
Used Hiscox cases for years and never had a problem.
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This probably works well. The issue for me with the Hiscox was three-fold: One, they are not my gigblade bag, which I rather like and already owned. Two, they are harder to source here in the states. Although they seem to have a number of distributors, they mostly carry acoustic guitar cases. Three, they are half again as much money as the Pelican.
 
#57
Wow, great find @AcridSaint . This case looks like a good, reasonably price option, particularly for those of us that want to utilize our current case/bag in conjunction. Have you flown with it any more since you posted about it in June?

cattrax said:
You're right... 62" (at least that's what I read on Delta's site). Interestingly, I heard this today:
American Airlines cuts bag fees for some sports, music gear
American Airlines cuts bag fees for some sports, music gear
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AcridSaint said:
I finally catch a break from American :D
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Seems like American may be the only airline that gives a break on musical instruments, they don't charge an additional oversize fee on up to 126 linear inches, whereas most other airlines will charge $75-100 addition for anything over 62 inches (the Pelican is ~82 inches). The good news seems to be that the Pelican + bass + bag can be kept under 50lbs to avoid an overweight baggage fee.

I only do a few fly dates a year and usually can borrow a bass. Even if I have to rent a bass, I'm trying to figure out if it's worth it for me to invest in a case like this so I can play my own bass. Sometimes these gig budgets are tight and I'm not sure if I can always get the extra travel costs reimbursed and I don't want to pay out of pocket. Hmmm.
 
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#58
Harbor Freight has an Apache 9800 rifle case for $149 that is very similar to the Pelican case and they regularly have a 25% off coupon that you can use towards the price making it $112. I have a couple of the smaller Apache cases as well as a couple of the Pelican brand cases and they are nearly identical.
 
#59
oddeotek said:
Harbor Freight has an Apache 9800 rifle case for $149 that is very similar to the Pelican case and they regularly have a 25% off coupon that you can use towards the price making it $112. I have a couple of the smaller Apache cases as well as a couple of the Pelican brand cases and they are nearly identical.
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This sounds like a good option for anyone with cases that will fit. Losing almost 2 1/2" of width and an inch of depth was not going to work for me. 13 5/8" wide won't fit the gigblade or my SKB case.
 

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